Writing Interview Follow Up Letters

Writing interview follow up letters is as important a step in the interview process as the formal in-person interview itself, and crafting one is an art.  Follow up letters can serve many purposes depending on your standing in the hiring manager's eyes.  A well-written, eloquent letter can further solidify your already strong credentials, push you past similar applicants with less impressive follow up skills or salvage your chances if you bombed the interview.  Sometimes that letter will catch the hiring manager's eye for one reason or more and change what they thought of you in person, even so far as to nearly waive the interview results in their entirety.  However, if your follow up letter is not up to par, it can negatively affect your chances just as easily.  It is extremely important to understand what hiring managers want to see from a follow up letter.

 

Start off with a heading containing your full name, address and how best to reach you by phone or email, and precede the body salutation with the addressee's name, title, and organization information.  In the salutation, be sure to include the highest form of address that the addressee merits. For instance, use “Dr.” if he or she has received a doctorate.

 

The most important element of the letter is speed.  The faster you check in following the interview, the better.  If you wait too long, someone else may have beaten you to it or you may have lost your chance to save your application should you have had a poor interview. 

 

An enthusiastic thanks should be your first point.  They took the time out of their day to consider you for the position, and you need to make it clear that you greatly appreciate that.  Follow that with a paragraph further promoting your talent and abilities with respect to the position's requirements.  Be sure to go over what was said in the interview concerning the position, and if the interviewer harped on any specific points as being essential, definitely mention how your abilities translate to those needs.

 

Next, again express how interested you are in the position and that you look forward to hearing from them soon.  Offer to be available by email or phone (provide both again) should they need any further information, and add another profuse thanks for taking the time to see and consider you.

 

While you definitely want to impress that you are very interested in the position and have the necessary tools to succeed and exceed their expectations, you have to be sure not to overdo it, as you could become an annoyance and turn the company off to your application.  One follow-up letter immediately after the interview is a good start, and calling them a day or two after they said they'd reach back out to you is about all else you need to do to present yourself as actively as possible.